Thick-billed Murres

Environment Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University
Ottawa, Canada

Resource development activities in northern regions are forecasted to accelerate, prompting studies on how these activities may impact the marine environment. We aim to determine the seasonal foraging range of Thick-billed Murres in the eastern Canadian Arctic, to evaluate their potential overlap with resource development activities. Thick-billed Murres provide valuable food resources to nearby communities through hunting and egg collection. These birds also serve as important indicators of marine ecosystem health by sampling the nutrient and contaminant levels of the surrounding environment during their daily foraging trips. Using detailed GPS tracking of Thick-billed Murres from the Digges Sound and Coats Island breeding colonies, we are tracking changes in foraging range and foraging behaviours to help inform future management strategies for these important marine areas.
More information and project web page link soon

Ecotone supplied GPS-UHF loggers for this project